For Science!

Sadly our original recording with Dr Katie Mack ended up as so much static due to a computer glitch, however Mags, Mel and James are back with another episode with topics ranging from the realities of a career in science, through fecal pills, nobel prizes and Killer whales that can talk to the Dolphins. Fecal Pills http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141011172138.htm Killer whales learn to talk to dolphins http://phys.org/news/2014-10-killer-whales-bottlenose-dolphins-cross-species.htm Nobel Prizes Physics - http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2014/ Chemistry - http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2014/ Medicine - http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2014/ Science Careers http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/how-do-we-engage-young-people-in-science-20141017-1170vt.html Mags Lunar Eclipse Shots http://magdelinelum.com/lunar-eclipse-october-2014/ Explosm Comic http://explosm.net/comics/3557/

It's National Science Week, so we thought we'd bring out another episode, because there is no such thing as too much science. This episode we talk Ebola. What's happening, why is the media so bad with stuff like this and we ponder why Homeopaths without Borders isn't mucking in. We also have a look at two stories that look at different aspects of diabetes, true motherly devotion from a cephelopod, sleeping in space and crayfish who can regrow brain cells from their blood. New method of encasing insulin producing cells might solve rejection issue http://bpod.mrc.ac.uk/archive/2014/8/11 Diabetes as a survival tactic http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26008-grizzly-bears-become-diabetic-when-they-hibernate.html?cmpid=RSS%7CNSNS%7C2012-GLOBAL%7Conline-news#.U-NzrnV515Q Octopus Mum spends 4 and half years tending her eggs http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/07/31/4057741.htm Getting to sleep in microgravity isn’t as easy as you might think http://www.newscientist.com/article/

One day we'll be organised, promise! This episode we talk about: Rubber ducky shaped comets - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/07/18/4048841.htm The spread of tropical species as the oceans warm - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/07/09/4041782.htm Flapdoodle and the plight of the Redhead - http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/10/redheads-die-out-extinction-ginger-gene-bad-science-red-hair Someone left smallpox in an old samples fridge - http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jul/08/smallpox-vials-found-cardboard-box-maryland-laboratory CSIRO is cutting funding to education resources - http://cpsu-csiro.org.au/2014/07/25/csiro-cuts-hit-the-classroom/ And for good measure here's the Act that gives the CSIRO its reason for existing - http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/saira1949279/s9.html

This episode finds the For Science! crew in a slightly less ranty frame of mind. This means of course that there are more science stories, and we even get philosophical at one point. Stories covered: New bill would loosen restrictions on offering seriously ill patients untested procedures - http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/jun/05/untested-treatments-could-be-used-on-seriously-ill-patients Chinas need for flat land leads to Mountain removal, and the problems that come with it - http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-27702401 Funnell Web venom could help save the Bees - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/06/04/4018609.htm MIT Group claims they can switch memories on and off - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/06/02/4017055.htm Evolution in action - Hawaiian crickets go silent to escape parasitic fly - http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2014/05/29/the-silence-of-the-crickets-the-silence-of-the-crickets/ NASA announces funding for 12 "draw

When we started this episode we were going to be talking a lot more science news than we ended up doing, all we can say is that the ranting is justified. Stories covered this episode: - Where did Mel go - How did Mags make a mushroom cloud in her classroom - Science funding / Medical Research Fund - Group crowd funds the recovery of a historic probe: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/05/20/space_hackers_prepare_to_reactivate_antiquated_spacecraft/ - Are we biased against single cell lifeforms? http://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/abstract/S0169-5347%2814%2900064-0  - Drinkable sunscreen? Yeah no: http://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2014/may/20/hard-to-swallow-the-worlds-first-drinkable-sunscreen

While Mel is swanning around western Europe, being all international scientist of mystery, ex regular and extremely welcome guest Maia has returned for an episode. This fortnight we're talking about: Why it's so hard threading a needle (and what it means for our understanding of vision) - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/04/30/3984980.htm Blood protien helps rejuvenate mice muscle and brains (also Gothic Horror inspired acts of science) - http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25516-blood-protein-rejuvenates-brain-and-muscle-in-old-mice.html#.U2eABXJhU9k What James thinks is the coolest name for a dinosaur - http://australianageofdinosaurs.com/dino-australovenator.php Australian scientists help confirm the existance of a new element - http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-02/australian-scientists-help-add-new-element-to-periodic-table/5426942?WT.ac=statenews Zombie bacteria - http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/05/02/3996620.htm Why is it only the male

A mixed bag of stories this episode. We cover some ground, starting with bird life in and around Chernobyl, insect sex, new advances in biological printing and finally ending up somewhere in orbit. 28th Anniversay of Chernobyl disaster shows some bird species adapting quite well to the higher levels of radiation - http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/04/scienceshot-some-birds-thrive-chernobyls-radioactive-glow UOQ Pitch drop experiment produces 9th drop since 1930 - http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25441-longest-experiment-sees-pitch-drop-after-84year-wait.html#.U1C3XabdKak But! The pitch broke during a beaker change, breaking the run of uninterrupted drops. Cave insects where the female appears to have a penis (but doesn't really) - http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/17/5617766/scientists-discover-insect-with-female-penis New vaginal canals have been grown/printed from patients own cells - http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25399-engineered-vaginas-grown-in-women-for-the-f

We have defeated the gremlins and finally managed to record episode 22, and what an episode it is. We are joined by Doctor Alice Goreman to discuss a paper she wrote about the problem of preserving our orbital heritage, why we should be thinking about it, and how we might go about the task of preserving our history even as it orbits several thousand miles above our heads. We also talk about the following stories and papers: Botox as a treatment for Asthma: http://monash.edu/news/show/new-treatment-for-asthma-sufferers Tasmanian Devil facial tumour disease evolves: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2014/03/17/3955126.htm?WT.mc_id=science_twitterfeed_latest&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter Flight paths of birds around wind farms: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0092462#pone-0092462-g002 Goats are cleverer than sheep: http://phys.org/news/2014-03-goats-clever-previously-thought.html Also we have intro music! It's Sudden Goodb

In this episode of For Science! Mags reveals the secret to excercise is the undead Chickens tell us how dinosaurs walked - Paper / Video Bacteria that "eats" electricity - Article Five second rule - Article Surgery in Space - Article

We're back! It's been a while but James, Mags and Mel have returned for 2014. Let's see, for this episode we're looking at: Why the Victorian Government withdrew funding for NICTA What's happening Space, including a promise from Mags to get closer to the SKA on her next trip to Perth Probiotic Sausages (with the probiotic bacteria sourced from baby poo) A fish that literally swallows swallows The coal fire at Morewell in Victoria Oh and "How Things Work" is now an official segment. This episode is a musical number James found on youtube called Chromosome. You can find the original here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khBmRuFc_P4

Well episode 19 is finally here. Many apologies for the lateness, this real life thing keeps getting in the way. Anyway, this episode finds Mel, Mags and James discussing the National Health and Medical Research Council Grants, what Mole Day means to chemists, how jelly's from space don't know up from down and gold in dem dar trees. Oh, and we talk about World Vasectomy Day (warning you may find out more about James than you wanted to know). Also, due to real life thing, How Things Work segment has been moved to episode 20.

It's been a busy few weeks since the last episode of For Science! This episode Mags, Mel and James talk diesel and bees, water on mars (which Mags explains a whole lot better than James) and of course we talk about the Nobel Prizes.

Well it's been an interesting few weeks since the last episode of For Science! but we're slowly making our way towards episode 20. For episode 17, Mel, Mags and James talk about people who's digestive systems act like distilleries, the results of the search for methane on mars and the excellent "Bohemian Gravity"  (a little of which you will hear in the show). Oh and Mags has a little rant about what it takes for effective engagement in schools. To hear the rest of Bohemian Gravity, just click play below.

For Science! returns with Dr Mel, Mags and James exploring everything from bacterial immune systems through termite warning systems and how frogs are able to survive deep freeze. We also talk about the passing of Professor John Mainstone, the curator of the famous Pitch Drop experiment at the University of Queensland and the sort of dedication that it takes to run an experiment for some 52 years. Here's the audio interview we mention during the episode: http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2013/03/worlds-longest-lab-experiment-about-to-drop-again.html and here is the live feed of the experiment in question (you never know, you could catch a drop falling) http://www.smp.uq.edu.au/content/pitch-drop-experiment

For Science! returns to the interwebs featuring James and Mags, once again joined by Dr Melanie Thomson to discuss some of the science news of the past few weeks. For episode 15 we have a look at the recent artificial meat announcement, tracing human history via the Y chromosome (and what may in fact lie in store for the Y chromosome in the future) and we celebrate the first earth year for the Curiosity Rover.

We finally defeated the gremlins and managed to actually record episode 14 of For Science! For this episode Mags and James were joined by Dr Mel Thomson from Deakin University. Dr Thomson is a micro-biologist who's currently involved with a project looking at the effectiveness of using maggots as a debridement treatment for a particularly nasty bacteria. This episode we talk about: Three Parent IVF Techniques The ABC's Science Forum Using sugar instead of radioactive dies to detect tumours under and MRI Moths that vibrate their genitals to throw bats off their game and the value of the recent Australian Acadamy of Science "Science Survey".

Well it's been a little while but we're back. In this episode we talk Robotic Pets, Turtle embryos (smarter than you think), micro batteries and Fairy Wrens who learn. We also introduce two new segments, Mags Rant where Magdeline sallies forth on things that make her passionate and Where's The Science At, where we try and keep you up to date with sciencey events coming up in the next couple of weeks. Sadly, we also say goodbye to Maia.

For Science! returns to talking about the Science news in what turns out to be the second last episode featuring Maia (not sure what's going on? I blogged about it here) This episode we tackle: Whether it's possible that actual Mammoth blood has been found in Russia: http://phys.org/news/2013-05-russian-scientists-rare-blood-mammoth.html How cockroaches are evolving to deal with the threats posed by common household baits: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/340/6135/972 The ongoing discussion over whether the Archeopteryx is either a dinosaur like bird or bird like dinosaur: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22695914 Crowd funding science, this time it's an orbital telescope: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1458134548/arkyd-a-space-telescope-for-everyone-0 Also, I talk about a TED talk by Jack Horner, I've linked to it below. I would really recommend you go and watch it (after listening to this episode of course) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v

Last episode we had a look at what it takes to Science. From the basic process, to the importance of statistics to whether the annecdote has a legitimate place within science. This time round we decided to have a look at Schlock Science. Each of us has a look at what most bugs us about the world of crappy or psuedo science, whether it's dodgy "studies", Press Releases dressed up in lab coats or those who try to use scientific terminology to push their own ideological ends. Fun :)

For this fortnights episode we've decided to go back to basics and explore exactly what it takes to Science. I explain the basic process of science while Maia tackles stastics and Mags explores why anecdotal data still has a place in the scientific method, even if it's not where some people think it should be.